Cattle

[Newt]

Most cattle, including bulls, aren't a major threat unless they get into a panic, start running, and you happen to be in the way.

 

The problem is that an occasional bull seems to be like an occasional person - just plain mean. Given that an adult bull will usually be upwards of 1000 lbs and can run faster than a person, all it needs is one time with one bull that wants to hurt something and you can wind up dead or badly injured.

 

I watch professional bull riding events regularly and while those bulls are all bred for large and liking to buck, you can see the difference in the majority that simply want the rider off their back and on to some good hay and the few who want to hurt something. The former will quickly settle down and look for a way out of the arena after the rider is off. The latter will do their very best to stomp or gore the rider or failing that, one of the bullfighters (think rodeo clowns).

 

This is not a random thing and you can normally be pretty sure which bulls will want to hurt. If you were fishing near a herd where you were familiar with the stock, you could be pretty sure if they would be safe or a danger. Otherwise, you do run a small but significant risk of injury when you go in among unknown livestock.

[WKD]

Wave some Colemans Mustard in their general direction

[zedhead]

nomadpaul,

 

The taser comment was said very much tongue in cheek, I wouldnt actually taser a cow, in fact I have been called somewhat of a tree hugger on this site when debating wildlife vs angling topics.

 

An iteresting point you raise is that cows have as much right to the river as us, in terms of british wildlife, allowing cows to access river banks causes many problems to nature, destroying riparian vegetation that is important to many aquatic and terrestrial inverts aswell as protected species like the water vole. If farmers could only fence thier fields off with a few yards of river bank protected, we would be left unmolested by livestock, fish would have more natural food and bankside wildlife would have some habitat.

[nomadpaul]

nomadpaul,

 

The taser comment was said very much tongue in cheek, I wouldnt actually taser a cow, in fact I have been called somewhat of a tree hugger on this site when debating wildlife vs angling topics.

 

An iteresting point you raise is that cows have as much right to the river as us, in terms of british wildlife, allowing cows to access river banks causes many problems to nature, destroying riparian vegetation that is important to many aquatic and terrestrial inverts aswell as protected species like the water vole. If farmers could only fence thier fields off with a few yards of river bank protected, we would be left unmolested by livestock, fish would have more natural food and bankside wildlife would have some habitat.

i must admit Zed that after i wrote my comments , i realised that i may have taken your reply the wrong way ....and i can see where you're coming from with the Bovine Incursions ( as we used to call incidents of cows on the tracks when i worked on the Railway ) Is there no legislation that forces Farmers to fence off riverside areas ?

[corydoras]

I was brought up on mixed and arable farms so here is my two bits worth. If they are bullocks or Fresian cows they are probably harmless. Cows with followers should be treated with caution. Ayrshire cattle should be avoided at all times, but especially when the have followers. I would avoid going into a field with an unknown bull when he was on his own. If he was entertaining some ladies I would just not enter the field at all. If you have a dog, leave it at home a strange dog can cause all sorts of problems where cattle are concerned.

 

Not all breeds of cattle are equal. A Charolais bull will tend to be quite a laid back docile beast, whilst a Jersey bull can never be trusted. In general ANY bull that is over 18 months old is a potential killer and should not be trusted.

 

Just my two bits worth, your mileage may vary.

[Peter Sharpe]

I was brought up on mixed and arable farms so here is my two bits worth. If they are bullocks or Fresian cows they are probably harmless. Cows with followers should be treated with caution. Ayrshire cattle should be avoided at all times, but especially when the have followers. I would avoid going into a field with an unknown bull when he was on his own. If he was entertaining some ladies I would just not enter the field at all. If you have a dog, leave it at home a strange dog can cause all sorts of problems where cattle are concerned.

 

Not all breeds of cattle are equal. A Charolais bull will tend to be quite a laid back docile beast, whilst a Jersey bull can never be trusted. In general ANY bull that is over 18 months old is a potential killer and should not be trusted.

 

Just my two bits worth, your mileage may vary.

 

I think bullocks are more dangerous in some ways. You know that a bull can be dangerous and you leep out of their way, but some bullocks can attack as a herd. There used to be a pack of them at the very downstream end of Collingham's water and they would charge at you from hundreds of yards away. I always used to carry a few paper bags in my pocket, because blowing them up and bursting them usually gained you a bit of breathing space. I don't know where you would get paper bags from now though - you'd have to use balloons.

[Anderoo]

One of my favourite swims on the Thames has a resident herd of bullocks and I don't like or trust them as far as I could throw one. I used to just ignore them but last autumn I was walking through the fied to get back to my car when one of them spotted me and started trotting over - the rest followed and they slowly gained pace until they were virtually charging (about a dozen of them). It's the only time for many, many years when I've been properly scared. I resisted the urge to run and by walking briskly(!) I made it to a fence and clambered over just in time. Bullocks? Bloody stupid, inquisitive, aggressive things! Don't trust them!

 

I fished that swim last night in fact and they turned up to have a snout around but didn't cause any problems. I'll still fish there but I'll make damn sure I'm close enough to a fence or the river (if I have to!) so I can escape them if they start getting feisty. The path through the field is a public footpath by the way

[ColinW]

I've only had one bad experience with cattle. I'd been roving along the Ribble down at bank level and came up into a different field where there was an extremely aggressive bull with his harem. I just managed to get over a fence guarding an electrical substation before he reached me. I then had to wait nearly half an hour before he got bored and went back about his business, so I could escape back down to river level. Other than that, cattle have just proved to be a bit of a nuisance. One ate my rod bag before regurgitating it covered in half digested grass. Another chewed my car aerial off for no good reason. Usually they just annoy you because of their stupidity. They will walk a mile down a path in front of you, very slowly, rather than move ten yards into a field to let you past (I don't like to try and skirt round them in case one jumps into the river or some equally idiotic behaviour.)

Mind you, cows are four legged Einsteins compared to sheep!

 

PS I doubt if the bullocks were chasing you, they probably just expected you to feed them.

Edited June 25, 2007 by ColinW

[bingo]

Sorry to be ignorant but what are 'followers'?

 

It's the staring that gets me!

 

I am much more relaxed when there aren't any! I've been 'chased' by bullocks and although it can be very frightening at first I've found that they always stop when they get within 5 to 10 metres of me. But it's never a nice feeling because you're never 100% sure. I will always go out of my way to avoid possible conflict/disturbance. Sometimes I just don't fish a certain field because the field offers no shelter whatsover. It's surrounded on all sides by rivers and a road so there's no escape once you're in! And this herd will stare and then start moving towards as soon as they spot you.

[Steve Walker]

I've been followed by bullocks on the Thames too, and on my favourite Avon tributary. They definitely make me nervous. Cattle can be friendly enough beasts when they're on the other side of a gate, but they're just too big and dumb to be trusted not to hurt you, even by accident. I've only been harassed by a bull once, when I was a teenager. Shouldn't really have been fishing there, to be honest, but I'd waded in and downstream from the bank I did have access to fish from and had dumped my gear on the opposite bank. Luckily, although the bull was aggressive, it didn't seem to want to get in the water with me, more interested in trampling my tackle box and looking nasty. Farmer came down with a jack russell which chased it away, then had a good old moan at me.